Poker Night in Brooklyn
by Flittery H
Summary: an interesting little sortof continuation of Proof. it's about everyone. lots of fun stuff. r&r!


Hey everyone! This is a special little fic about a poker night in Brooklyn, it's just.very special. It's not done yet, but I hope to finish it in the next couple of days, so suggestions would be very -very- welcome! Thanks! Oh! And thank you so much to you guys who reviewed it already!! Sorry Misprint, Bricks is taken, you'll find that out if you read the new part at the bottom! ^_^ but also side note about Bricks: he's supposed to be the guy that gets out of the water at the docks in Brooklyn when Jack and everyone go to see Spot in the movie-yaknow, the really HOTT one? With the most AMAZING a**! hehe --Flit A Poker Night in Brooklyn I always loved poker nights at the lodging house. All of our friends from Manhattan would troop over to drink a little, play a little, but always have a lot of fun. It was great, the one night every month when all of my friends were together. And this month was even better: we were holding it in Brooklyn. It was even better in Brooklyn, because the owner of our Lodging House, Mr. Hallowfield, always turned a blind eye to the rows of us strewn about the floor of the bunkroom when it was time to go to sleep. "I charge for beds," he would say, if anyone tried to pay, "sleeping on the floor is free." Not to say anything bad about Kloppman in Manhattan, but it was just not the same as Brooklyn. Finally the day came, the first Saturday of the month, and Spot and I went out to sell our papers as usual (on Saturdays I didn't have school, so I could spend the whole day selling). I was excited all day and Spot could tell. "The way you're acting, you'd think you hadn't seen these people in years," he said, laughing. "It feels like it! I miss them!" Spot smiled and came closer to me. "I wish you'd miss me like that," he said softly, brushing his fingers through my hair. I blushed and retorted playfully, "well maybe if you left me alone for a minute I'd be able to!" He laughed and reached for me, but I escaped his grasp and he chased me down the block until he caught me at the corner (because I can't run very fast). He puts his arms around my waist and looked down at me grinning and I stared back up at him in mock innocence. He smirked for one triumphant instant before he kissed me, gently at first, but it grew more playful and aggressive. I kissed back fully, now completely used to this treatment, and loving each kiss more than the one before it. They were each unique, like a favorite recipe that comes out slightly different each time, for it is impossible to add exactly the specified amount of each ingredient every time-there may be a grain too many of salt or a lump too much of flour, but that's what makes it special. I savored each kiss down to its last peculiar drop, knowing that this one kiss was a whole new experience, and had to be treated thus, and that I would never come across the exact same one again. But our kisses were not merely magical ways of conveying our affection for eachother, they were battles, dances, they were fun. Not just serious, perfectly harmonized spirituals, they were back and forth up and down ragtime notes clashing and clanging but somehow staying beautiful all at once. Sometimes they made me laugh. When he pulled away, after an eternity of drowning in the sea of his kiss, I smiled up at him. He smirked down at me for a moment before putting one arm around my waist and walking towards the lodging house. We got to the lodging house a half an hour before Manhattan was to arrive, so we helped set up the card table and get out the extra bedding for the floor. Soon other Brooklyn newsies (and friends of newsies) began filing in. Duncan and Katie were some of the first. They were a sweet couple and had been such since we were kids. I stayed with them a lot in school. Then came Punch, Bricks, Laura, and Carrot, all the greatest of friends-Laura and I went to school together and were pretty close also-and followed by Eddie and Manda, both Brooklyn newsies. Eddie and Manda were an odd pair, and never seemed to be completely on speaking terms. Hannah entered next, cheerfully announcing her presence, followed by Gracie, Angel, and Bitty. Bitty, a carbon copy of her older brother but with the most beautiful red hair ever to be seen on a little girl of 14, bounded over to Spot and I. "Hey Bitty!" he cheerfully greeted his little pride and joy. She smiled, "Hey Spot!" "How was your day?" he asked, walking away with her. I smiled, watching as they recounted their days to eachother in their daily chat. It was something they needed to do, whether they actually had anything to talk about or not, they needed that time just to be together, to remind them that they were there, and they were a family. Bitty lived in the lodging house with Spot, but she went to school during the day and sold papers in the evening, like me and Katie and Duncan. Spot had to sell twice as much to support her, and it was something I had always admired about him-the way he silently worked as hard as he could to keep his little sister in school while he had dropped out long ago. Somehow they just scraped by. Bitty's best friend in the world was Gracie Bovary (yes, younger sister of the great queen of Brooklyn herself, though not particularly proud of it), an innocent smiling little girl who no one would ever imagine would be the girl of a boy like Angel. He was an interesting boy. They say they call him Angel because he's the farthest from one. He never seemed quite so diabolical to me, but I still would never have pictured him with Gracie. He was rather indifferent to the world, it seemed, but his mind was a bit dirty and he didn't seem to care who knew it. Having been left by Spot, I wandered over to where everyone else was clumped, talking and laughing. Suddenly, Hannah broke out of the clump, laughing, clutching Bricks' hat. She hugged it tightly and pouted at him as he came towards her. But just as he was about to reach her, she ran across the room, promoting a chase that seemed never ending. The rest of us laughed, seeing the two of them chasing after eachother like children. I wandered over to Ann-Katrin, or Muecky (cute little bug in German) as we called her, my closest friend in Brooklyn (besides Spot). Her family had immigrated here from Germany a few years ago, and they lived in the apartment below mine. Every day I walked to school with her and her brother, Christopher and her sister Andrea. Our parents were friends as well and spent many lengthy dinners reminiscing about the old days in Germany (though my parents had moved here before I was born). "Hey Muecky," I said. She smiled, "Hello," she said. Just then, the door burst open and in walked Manhattan, Jack Kelly at the head. "Never fear, the other borough is here!" he called. He smiled broadly awaiting his greeting. Unfortunately, Hannah chose that moment to run straight past him, Bricks close behind. "Hi Jack!" she called out briefly between giggles. Jack surveyed the exchange calmly. Snap rolled her eyes, the Kelly siblings could be tiresome, if not amusing. A moment later, the pair zipped past again in the other direction, but this time Jack stepped in front of Bricks at just the right instant so the younger boy crashed into him. He stared grimly down at him. "Why are you chasin' my little sister?" Bricks stared up at the towering figure. Hannah yawned. "Uh, I, um. she stole my hat.?" Jack nodded solemnly. "Well, I suggest you get it back. But. Keep in mind, if I ever find out that you hurt my sister in any way at all, you will regret it." He smiled and stepped out of the way. Hannah rolled her eyes. But then Bricks started chasing her again. I laughed. Mueky and I hugged Snap and Aurora and they introduced us to two girl newsies we had not met. Apparently they had been there for quite a few months already, but had never been able to come to poker nights. They were Jojo and Time Keeper. Jojo, it seemed, had already formed an alliance of sorts with Blink, and Time Keeper had been seeing Punch for quite some time. I had heard a lot about both girls and was very excited to meet them. "So you're the one who finally bagged Spot Conlon," said Time Keeper good- naturedly. I laughed, "I guess you could say that." I had heard of her former affair with my current sweetheart, but she seemed nice enough-and if I had had it in my mind to go around hating every girl that Spot had ever taken out, well I would have very few friends left. "Why do they call you Time Keeper?" I asked, curious. She blushed a little and looked down, "something about an hour glass." she muttered. We all laughed at her embarrassment, but it was true, she had the body of a goddess-shaped like an hour glass. "And you're with Punch, now, right?" asked Muecky. The still blushing girl nodded. "And Jojo's with Blink," said Snap, nudging the older girl. She smiled, "yeah." she said, getting a little dreamy. I smiled at her, "he's a great guy, congratulations." She nodded her thanks.  
  
*** Hannah stole Bricks' hat. He stole her handkerchief. She stole his hat again. They chased eachother back and forth through every part of the lodging house, until Hannah made a wrong turn. She ran into a small deserted corner of the huge bunkroom, blocked by a bed on one side and the wall on the other-she was blocked in! Bricks was coming closer. She hugged his hat tightly to her chest. "You'll never get it back!" she cried, laughing, but her laughter ceased as she backed into the wall. Soon he was right in front of her, his arms leaning against the wall on either side of her small frame. She smiled innocently up at him, and he tried to look menacing. "My hat?" He asked. She shook her head. Then her eyes twinkled and in one fluid motion she pushed his hat onto his head with such force it came down over his eyes, but before he could regain his composure she did something even more shocking. Her lips met his in a full, sweet and all too fleeting kiss that ended too soon, with the flip of her soft blonde hair and the swish of her skirt leaving Bricks standing alone in the dark corner. He stood there blinking for a moment, before he grinned widely and ran after the fleeing skirts. *** "Two," I said, placing two of my cards face down on the table. Race handed me two new cards. I looked at them. They did nothing for my poor hand. "A quarter," said Angel, throwing in a coin. I squinted at my cards, then relunctantly threw in the money. Spot called as well. "I'll see your quarter," said Race, "and raise you ten." I sighed. I couldn't afford to loose this much money. I closed my hand of cards and tossed them onto the table. "I fold." Gracie folded as well. Spot and Angel called yet again. Jack raised it another ten and this time Angel folded. Eventually, Race won the hand. Spot pushed his chair away. "Well, I'm done," he said good-naturedly. I stayed in for another round. This time Angel won. Then Gracie and I dropped out as well. I sat on the floor near the card table between Mueky and Spot. Snap sat on Jack's lap, "helping him play" and Gracie sat on Angel's lap, likewise. Bitty stood between Gracie and Race, interchanging chatting with her best friend and flirting with Race. Spot watched grumbling. 


End file.
